Toy piano



21, 1956 T. R. DUNCAN 2,759,387

TOY PIANO Filed May 11, 1950 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 FIG. I. FIG. 4. 3%

3e 35 Q :l [/17 I2 26 Q ea 78 2e I g a I NVENTOR THEODORE R. DUNCAN 74 27 BY ATTORNEYS Aug. 21, 1956 T. R. DUNCAN 2,759,387

TOY PIANO Filed May 11, 1950 22 Sheets-Sheet 2 6| 68 !4 FIG 7.

H FIG. I2. I 55 Q 69 70 I6 17 i 8 .4 7l I8 3 1. I| I: ll] I I I 74 "wi 1/1. n I

INVENTOR THEODORE R. DUNCAN WM. 1M

ATTORNEYS United States Patent i TOY PIANO Theodore R. Duncan, North Hollywood, Calif.

Application May 11, 1950, Serial No. 161,460

Claims. (Cl. 84-404) This invention has to do in a general way with pianos and particularly with small toy pianos.

I am aware that there are several different types of toy pianos on the market, but those with which I am famil ar are relatively heavy, expensive to manufacture, and give very poor musical tone. One particular objection to such pianos is the fact that the music-producing elements are extremely heavy and clumsy, requiring a strong, heavy case. Breakage in shipment is common, and this ultimately adds to the cost of the pianos. Another fault with presently manufactured toy pianos is the fact that the action thereof is slow, making it impossible to rapidly repeat the same note. A further disadvantage is that the commonly employed clapper-type of striking means permits no expression in the music, and the sound of the music is often partially drowned out by the scraping and clanking sound of the action.

Therefore it is an object of my invention to provide a novel, improved toy piano which does not have the abovenoted disadvantages of toy pianos presently manufactured.

A particular object of the invention is to provide a relatively small and light-weight toy piano which can be manufactured cheaply.

Another particular object of the invention is to provide a toy piano, which, compared to known toy pianos, has improved musical tone, quieter, more efficient and more responsive action, and is lighter in weightand more comact.

p Another object is to provide a toy piano, which, as an article of manufacture, has a minimum number of parts easily assembled by unskilled persons, embodies a minimum of materials, utilizes the lowest cost materials suitable for each part, and whichv is easy to package and, though lighter in weight than those heretofore manufactured, is relatively stronger and less subject to breakage in shipment.

A further object is to produce a toy piano which has, in miniature, a quality of tone more like that of a true pianoforte.

A still further object is to provide improved means for striking the vibrators which avoids all individual felting and yet which will operate more silently and efficiently than known striking means.

A further object is to provide a unit tone-producing member of relatively light Weight and improved design with a substantially straight, or level striking point.

A further object is to provide improved means for dis tributing the weight of the sound-producing member over a large area or portion of the case.

A particular object of this invention is to provide improved and simplified means for multiplying the velocity of the striking means in toy pianos, such devices, due to complexity and high cost of manufacture, having heretofore been used only on expensive professional pianos. in this connection it is an object to provide an ideally counterbalanced striking lever.

Another object is to provide a means for employing vibrators of uniform cross section fixed at one end and free at the other.

Patented Aug. 21, 1 956 ice These and other objects will be apparent from the drawings and the following description thereof.

Referring to the drawings, which are for illustrative purposes' only:

Fig. 1 is a front elevational view, partly broken away, of a toy piano embodying the invention;

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the device of Fig. l, the view being. partly broken away to show portions in sections;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged sectional view on line 3-3 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary section on line 44 of Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is a section on line 55 of Fig. 3;

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary sectional. view on line 6-6 of Fig. 3;

Fig. 7 is a fragmentary sectional view in. the same plane as Fig. 3 showing the parts with the key depressed;

Fig. 8 is a section on line 88 of Fig. 7;

Fig. 9 is a perspective view, partly broken away, of a white key member shown inverted;

Fig. 10 is a perspective View, partly broken away, of a black key member;

Fig. 11 isan edge view of the front of a striking" lever;

Fig. 12 is an enlarged sectional view on line 122 -12 of Fig. 7

Fig. 13 is an enlarged fragmentary view of the upper end of the striking lever in the plane and position of Fig.- 3; and

Fig. 14 is an enlarged fragmentary view of the upper end of the striking lever in the plane and position of Fig. 7.

More particularly describing the invention, in the drawings I show a piano of. the spinet type which has a case which may be conveniently formed in two parts of plastic or other suitable material. The upper part is indicated by numeral 11 .and the. lower part by numeral 12. The upper part includes a top wall which is formed to provide an upper flat top section 14, an inclined section 15, a ledge 16, and a depending front wall flange 17, the lower edge of which is covered with a strip of a resilient or rubber-like material 18 for a purpose to be described. The upper part also includes end walls 20. The end walls extend forwardly of the flange wall 17 on each side andterm'inate in a key-enclosing front wall 21.

The lower part of the case includes a front wall 23 and a forwardly extending key space defining wall 24. The lower part of the case is also formed to provide legs 26 and parts 27 between the legs and the front wall 12.

The frontwall 23 of the lower part of the case extends upwardly above wall 24 and terminates in a plurality of fulcrum sections 30 which, as shown in Fig. 4, are defined by slots 31 in the wall. These fulcrum sections may be tapered or beveled at 32 to form a sharp edge as shown. The upper part of the wall 23, the forward extending wall 24, and the front wall 21 of the upper part of the case cooperate to define a key space 34 for reception of the outer ends of piano keys 3'5' and 36.

As in conventional pianos bothlong, or white keys, 35 and short, or black keys, 36 are provided. When viewed in plan the exposed portions of the white keys are conventionally shaped, that is, they are slightly L-shaped as the key 35L, slightly T-shaped as the key 351, or slightly reve'rse'ly L-shap'ed as the key 35R, the keys being arranged as found on a conventional keyboard but being fewer in number.

The white keys each. are in the form of an elongated box-like structure. Referring to Fig. 9, a typical white key comprises a top wall 41, which is provided with an aperture or opening 42 at the inner end of the key. On the under surface of the top wall a bearing element 43 is formed at the point where the key is to be fulcrumed on one of the sections 30. Each key is provided side walls such as those shown at 44, 45, 46, 47, 48,

and 49. The configuration of the key as a whole, of course, will conform to one of the three types previously described, that is, it will either be an L-shaped key, a T-shaped key, or a reversely L-shaped key.

The keys are mounted or fulcrumed on the fulcrum wall sections and the side walls 48 and 49 of the keys are received in the slots 31. The lower edges of the side walls are inclined upwardly as best shown in Figs. 3 and 7. The side Walls rest on a vertical supporting wall 51 which is formed as part of a rearwardly extending shelf 52 in the lower part of the ease and serves to limit downward movement of the inner ends of the keys. The upper part of the stop wall 51 is covered with a strip 53 of a yieldable rubber-like material to provide a cushioning means for the keys.

Each key at its inner end is provided with a cross member 55 which may preferably be rounded or circular in cross section to support a striking lever, generally indicated by numeral 57. The striking levers are provided with a notch 58 which receives the pin-like cross mem ber 55 of the key, each lever being provided with an arm 59 formed to project toward the outer end of the key and be received within the hole 42 therein.

As shown in Fig. 10, the black keys 36 are of the same width throughout, having an elevated front finger portion 60. These keys also have the fulcrum bearing, indicated by 43a, the pin-like cross member 55a, and the hole 42b.

Each striking lever is preferably relatively light in weight and may be made of thin sheet metal or formed of plastic or other suitable material. The levers each comprise a wider upper section 61 which tapers to a relatively narrow lower end portion 62. A striking head 63 is formed at the lower end as by a portion of the material extending at right angles to the body of the member. The previously mentioned arm 59 extends lat erally of the main portion of the upper section 61 some what below the notch. To provide greater bearing area, the upper edge 59 of the arm may be turned as shown.

In order to guide the striking levers and maintain them parallel the shelf 52 is slotted at 65 to receive the levers and each lever is provided with suitable corrugations 66 to act as bearings in the slot. One corrugation, 66', extends to the lower end of the lever to form a strengthening rib. The shelf 52 is also provided with a plurality of vertical guide walls 68 between which the upper ends of the striking levers extend. The striking levers are provided with horizontally disposed corrugations 69 in the region of these walls to act as bearings.

The striking levers are thus guided to be maintained in parallel planes independently of the key members. Hence the key members can be moved laterally somewhat without causing any misalignment of the striking levers. Also, by using relatively wide guide slots with guide corrugations on the levers, assembly and manufacture are facilitated and friction is reduced. Each of the striking levers is suspended and normally hangs in the position shown in Figs. 3 and 13 by reason of the the fact that it is pivotally supported or hung at a point offset from its longitudinal axis. Above the striking levers there is provided a vertical wall 70 which may be formed as a part of the upper part 11 of the case. This wall is provided with a resilient edging strip 71 of rubber or rubber-like material, and the wall acts as an abutment for the upper edges of the arms 59 of the striking levers. This wall 70-71 also acts as a stop for limiting movement of the keys.

In the rear portion of the case is mounted a sounding board 74 which supports a sound-producing element 75. If the case is of a so-called plastic, I prefer to use a metal sounding board to distribute the weight of the element 75 over a large part of the case. This element may be a music comb having a base 76, secured to the sounding board by rivets 77, and a plurality of elongated vibrators 78 which are firmly mounted in the base and free at their other ends. These vibrators may be made of music wire and slightly curved as shown to provide clearance between them and the sounding board for vibrating. This curve may be the natural curve of wire from coils, the amount of curvature being controlled by the diameter of the coils supplied by the wire manufacturer. The longer vibrators may have bent ends 78' so that the case need not be made unduly high to accommodate them. The sounding board is shown as in eluding a lower apertured wall section 22 which serves as a bottom wall for the case.

Heretofore, in toy pianos employing vibrators fixed at one end and free at the other, it has been necessary to utilize relatively large, heavy vibrators which had to be reduced in cross section adjacent to the member in which they were anchored in order to permit them to vibrate satisfactorily on a desired partial. The vibrators were thus weakened near their point of mounting and consequently subject to breakage. Also, they were relatively expensive and diflicult to tune.

I find that by employing high velocity striking levers of relatively light weight with small area of contact with the vibrators and striking the vibrators at the right point I can use relatively light-weight, thin vibrators of uniform cross section throughout their length. As indicated above, the vibrators may be made of music wire and I have found that a wire having a diameter of .043 inch gives excellent results if it is struck at a point about 26.8% of its length from the anchored end. This appears to cause the vibrators to vibrate chiefly in two sections, or so-called partials, giving a good tone. While the point defined appears to give best results, the striking point may be varied somewhat to each side without producing unsatisfactory results.

To enable the use of striking levers of the same length, since the vibrators vary in length, increasing in length from one end to the other, I mount the comb with the base thereof inclined as shown in Fig. 1. This results in the desired striking points of the vibrators being disposed substantially in level alignment.

Another feature of the invention is the fact that the pivotal connection or fulcrum mounting of the striking levers on the inner ends of the keys (the long bearing surface 51 extending across the keys) permits the striking levers to be equally spaced without the necessity of having the inner ends of the keys centrally aligned with the striking levers. The spacing of the keys is thus somewhat independent of the spacing of the striking levers. An advantage of this is that the crowding of keys in the three black key groups, due to having only three types of white keys, does not require a similar crowding of the striking levers, as the spacing of the levers is even, while that of the keys is uneven. I am thus enabled to use merely three types of white keys (35L, 3ST and 35R previously described) although on professional-type pianos it is customary to use seven types of white keys. Also, by having equally spaced striking levers, the levers may have wider striking heads and more space in which to operate and yet all be the same.

In the operation of the device, when a key is struck and depressed, as shown in Figs. 7 and 14, the inner end of the key rises, carrying the striking lever upwardly with it. Since the abutment wall 70-71 engages the upper surface 59' of the arm 59 on the upper end of the striking lever, the upward movement of the inner end of the key causes the striking lever to turn about its pivotal axis of suspension and, as a result, the lower end of the striking lever is rapidly propelled toward and against its associated vibrator, as shown by the broken-line position of Fig. 7. The movement of the key is limited by the abutment 7(i-71. After striking its assocated vibrator, the striking lever bounces off the vibrator and hangs in the position in which it is shown in Figs. 7 and 14 until the key is returned to its original position. The fact that the striking levers are relatively light in weight with most of the weight in the upper portion greatly contributes to the rapid action obtainable.

It will be apparent that the entire piano may be relatively light in weight with no unduly heavy parts which might tend toward breakage in transit. During shipment I may use a rod or bar of heavy paper, wood, or other material to hold the striking levers against movement. Such a bar, indicated by 79, is shown in broken lines in Fig. 7 and may extend through holes (not shown) in the ends of the case. The piano keys would be held depressed by any desired means in shipment.

Although the invention has been particularly shown and described, it is contemplated that various changes and modifications can be made without departing from the scope thereof as indicated by the following claims.

I claim:

1. In a piano, a case, a substantially horizontal key member pivotally supported intermediate its ends in said case for limited pivotal movement, a striking lever pivotally hung on the inner end of said key member and depending therefrom, said lever including an arm projecting toward the pivotal axis of said key member from the pivotal axis of the striking lever, said lever being relatively thin and flat and having a thin-edged striking head transversely of its lower end, the lower end portion of said lever being lighter in weight than the upper end portion, guide means in said casing for holding said lever in a vertical plane, and an abutment in the path of and engageable by the arm of said striking lever upon movement of said lever with said key member.

2. In a piano, a case, a substantially horizontal key member pivotally supported intermediate its ends in said case for limited pivotal movement, a striking lever pivotally suspended on the inner end of said key member and depending therefrom, the pivotal axis of said striking lever on said key being offset from the longitudinal axis of the lever whereby the lever normally hangs at a substantial acute angle to the vertical, said lever including an arm projecting toward the pivotal axis of said key member and away from the longitudinal axis of the striking lever, and an abutment in the path of and engageable by the arm of said striking lever upon movement of said lever with said key member, said abutment being so positioned that initial movement of the striking lever upon movement of said key member is in a direction such that the lower end of the striking lever swings downwardly toward the vertical.

3. In a piano, a case, an upright wall providing a plurality of fulcrum supports, a plurality of keys fulcrumed on said supports, means in said case limiting pivotal movement of said keys, a thin, substantially fiat striking lever pivotally hung from the inner end of each key and having a lateral arm, said striking levers depending from said keys, an abutment engageable by the arms of said levers upon pivotal movement of the associated keys, and guide means in said case for maintaining said levers within narrow parallel planes, said means comprising a slotted shelf below the inner end portions of said keys receiving said levers and upright walls on said shelf between said slots.

4. In a piano, a case, a plurality of substantially horizontal key members, a plurality of striking levers pivotally suspended from the inner ends of the key members respectively, and wall means in said case defining guide slots for receiving said striking levers and maintaining them substantially parallel, said slots each being substantially wider than the thickness of the body of the individual levers, said levers having elongated convex bearing surfaces on their sides in the region of said slots for guiding the levers in said slots.

5. In a piano having a substantially horizontal key member mounted for limited pivotal movement about a horizontal axis intermediate its ends and having a striking lever abutment adjacent the inner end of said key member, the combination therewith of a striking lever comprising a thin, sheet-like body having an upper section formed to provide a downwardly facing notch at one side and an arm extending laterally of the notch, said lever being hung on the inner end of said key member by means of said notch with said arm positioned below said striking lever abutment, said striking lever body having a lower section terminating in a thin-edged, transversely extending striking head facing in a direction laterally opposite said arm, said lower section of said body being lighter than said upper section, said striking lever normally hanging from said notch substantially inclined with the lower end of the body relatively retracted.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 359,557 Cahill Mar. 15, 1887 471,183 Miller Mar. 22, 1392 903,968 Gilmore Nov. 17, 1908 1,225,442 Konar May 8, 1917 1,603,797 Peterson Oct. 19, 1926 1,995,317 Loar Mar. 26, 1935 2,275,252 Demuth Mar. 3, 1942 2,279,144 Lohr Apr. 7, 1942 2,458,875 Pfeifier Jan. 11, 1949 2,474,462 Brewer June 28, 1949 2,492,919 Hings Dec. 27, 1949 2,504,666 Duncan Apr. 18, 1950 2,606,474 Kunz Aug. 12, 1952 2,641,153 Enochs et a1 June 9, 1953 FOREIGN PATENTS 4,650 Great Britain Sept. 30, 1882 593,471 Germany Mar. 2, 1934 478,999 Great Britain Jan. 28, 1938 127,676 Australia May 3, 1948 162,366 Austria Feb. 25, 1949 455,429 Canada Mar. 22, 1949 

